Musings

Monday, July 06, 2015

There has been talk about the changing nature of employment lately and how automation and digitisation will change the face of jobs as we know it. Seems to me though that if the whole fascination with Zombie movies and series continues, if you do make-up for the living dead, your future is secure. And, if the zombie apocalypse is real - but like iZombie rather than The Walking Dead, you've probably still covered!

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

We all have different skills - and we all try to get more from time to time. I was reading today that one of the ways to help you learn - especially when you are feeling slack and can't concentrate - is to force yourself to smile as you learn. If you can't fake a smile, you can force yourself to by holding a pencil between your teeth. Of course, for some of us this is not an option ... in fact, once that pencil goes in my mouth it's all I can do to not be squeamish. Maybe that's a new skill I could try to learn :)

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Who knew? Logging into FaceBook from a new browser I had the opportunity to "prove" my identity by answering security questions or by identifying folk I am connected to on FaceBook. Given my lack of ability for facial recognition, it could have been a big mistake. I did manage to get all of them but there were a couple which had me almost guessing. It would be interesting to know how the selection algorithm works ... how it decides which "friends" and which pictures to select for the recogition task. It does give you the option to "skip" if you don't know one, but thankfully I didn't have to find out how many "skips" it takes for you to be locked out. Still, I think it was easier than trying to remember the answers to those security questions.

Neil Moore, serving time for fraudulently obtaining over 3 million dollars by convincing folk he was from Barclays Bank, has proved he still has what it takes! From his quarters in the Wandsworth Prison in the UK, Moore set up a fake web domain with an address very similar to that of the court service's official address. He then emailed fake bail instructions to prison staff - and was released. His "escape" went unnoticed for three days - and may not have been discivered at all had solicitors not arrived to interview him ... only to find out he wasn't there. Oddly enough, three days after his escape was detected, he surrendered to authorities and is now waiting for sentencing on 8 counts of fraud and one count of escape. It will be interesting to see if they restrict his access to technology this time around.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

It's not often I receive an email reminding me to charge one of my devices ... but I have started getting them from my FitBit Charge (a new acquisition - a Christmas present). The Charge tracks steps, distance, calories spent and consumed (if you have a mind to enter them), several other fitness things, and also, as I now know, it's battery level! What will they think of next ... especially as it holds the charge for 7 to 10 days? This makes it fairly easy to forget ... as opposed to the about-to-be-available Apple Watch ... which surely must have a better battery life than the 18 hours claim I saw the other day!

Sunday, June 08, 2014

I'm not sure where I read it, it was a while ago, but apparently the US Military has a plan for coping with the Zombie Apocalypse - should it happen. The plan's disclaimer specifically states that "this plan was not actually designed as a joke". CONOP8888 - otherwise known as "Counter-Zombie Dominance" (dated April 30, 2011) was devised to allow the military to come up with a way to plan what could be a real response using a fictional scenario. That was the plan anyway. You can read more in The Washington Post - just search Google for "Leaked Document Reveals Government Preparing for Zombie Apocalypse".

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Watching Ice Dance at the Sochi Winter Olympics this morning, I'm wondering how or if the choice of music affects the judges' perception. The competitors were dancing to older tunes this morning - not a bar of Eminem to be heard - but some tunes were more familiar than others - and definitely more upbeat and fun. Did the judges think so as well? Or are they trained not to take any notice? I know that as the competitors danced, I was bopping along with some of the music in my head and thought those with the "best" music had done better - and the judges seemed to think so as well! Or perhaps they were just better skaters. Hmmm.